We’ve been building up the Pacific Fleet since the Bush 43 administration. War with China was the plan for PNAC prior to 9/11. And the Trump admin is flush with China Hawks.

Okay, so? You do realise that China has changed a lot since then. Again: This is a nuclear power with over double the USAs population. What exactly do you imagine the war goals here are?

PPP is a great place to start. Taiwanese cost of living has been climbing since Trump 1 while China has kept itself stable.

Can I see your data points here?

Basics - food, housing, transportation, education, health care - that Taiwan domestic policies privatized during the boom years have come back to eat their lunch in the lean years. Flat wages, rising debt, you do the math.

Still no data points.

You see the same problems across the Pacific Rim capitalist colony states. Everyone from Japan to India has been pinched by supply chain failures and venture capital excess. Taiwan’s not unique in this regard (honestly doing a lot better than most of their peers). But the check always comes due.

Even if this is true, why would the Taiwanese want to become absorbed into a one-party state?